Winners of the 2008 Altformat story competition celebrated
18 Jul 2008
Nine exceptional storytellers were celebrated at the House of Lords on Tuesday 8 July, as Sir Steve Redgrave congratulated the winners of the AltFormat 2008 Story Competition. The competition challenged dyslexic and visually-impaired children to submit a story, to be judged purely on its creative merit, rather than spelling and grammar.
Fellow dyslexic, Sir Steve commented: ‘This AltFormat story competition has clearly allowed the children’s writing skills to flourish, safe in the comfort of their spelling and grammar not being judged. Parents have spoken to me today about their child’s confidence growing from this amazing experience and for being recognised for their creative intelligence, not just their dyslexia. I’d have quite liked to have had that opportunity available to me whilst I was at school.’
At the award ceremony, which was also attended by David Blunkett MP, the first place prizes were awarded to Joseph Leeland from King Edward VII Sports and Science Community College in Coalville, Oscar Marshall from St Annes College Grammar and Katie Lloyd Hughes from Clifton College Preparatory School. All nine winners were presented with trophies by Sir Steve Redgrave, as well as a share of prizes totalling £25, 000 – including laptop computers and iPods.
Click here to read the winning stories.
